That Summer When She Cried

That Summer When She Was Loved

Lazily, Karl did not have any choice but check who knocked on her door. She made it a reminder to her staff for them to keep her resting for the rest of the day.

When she checked the time on her bedside table, it was already past eleven in the evening.

She found one of her receptionists standing at the doorway. She sighed.

"What's wrong Jo?" she asked. "Hindi ba sinabi sayo ni Manang Christina na wag ako istorbohin?"

"Ma'am, sorry po. Kinausap ko na po si Manang. Sya po ang nagsabi na gisingin ko kayo. May guest po kasi na gusto kayo kausapin," she answered, somewhat afraid.

"What? Kelan pa tayo nagkaroon ng problema sa check in? We are open 24/7, anong nangyari?" her mood turned sour, probably because of the disrupted sleep.

"Wala pong problema, Ma'am. Kaso pinipilit nya po na makausap kayo," Jo answered.

She drew a deep breath. "Okay. Sige, tell that guest I will be out in a while. Magaayos lang ako."

Jo left as soon as she closed the door. She knew some guests can be unreasonable and she hated it that it happened on a day when she simply wanted to have rest. She changed her shirt and after taking her keys, Karl went out of her room and went to the frontdesk area.

"Good evening chou," a smiling Jeron welcomed her. It made Karl frozen on her tracks and wondered if her eyes were fooling her. He was talking to Manang Christina who was obviously unaware of Jeron's identity.

"Botchog?" she still double checked. He walked up to her and kissed her on her cheeks.

He was real.

"Anong ginagawa mo dito?"

He held her on her waist. "I miss my baby girl. Masama ba?" he smiled sweetly.

"Teka, di ba may game kayo kanina?" she diverted the conversation. Maybe she was still trying to recover from the shock she felt when she saw him.

Jeron nodded. "We won by ten points. Got a good contribution made today. I was the player of the game. Proud of me?"

"Bakit andito ka kung may game ka kanina? Di ka ba pagod? Di ba dapat kasama mo family mo? Kaninang hapon lang naman yung laro nyo di ba?" she continued asking.

"Aren't you happy I am here?" Jeron made a pout, trying to look like a lost pup missing its master.

"No. I mean, I'm surprised to see you. I didn't expect you to be here. Akala ko sa Monday pa kita makikita," she answered, forcing a smile on her face.

Jeron shook his head. "Couldn't wait that long for me not to see you. I went here to Bataan after my game. If you didn't notice, may malaking bag sa kotse ko when I picked you up."

"I saw it but I was thinking it is because you have a game earlier," she answered.

"Partly yes. Partly no," he told her. "I'm tired. Hindi ko inaakala na ganun pala kahirap yung daan going here. And the road is dark. Hindi na kita ma-contact the whole day and I was worried something might have happened to you."

"Sorry, nag-lowbatt yung phone ko," she lied.

"It's okay," he smiled. "Basta nakikita kita, ayos na ako."

Karl went near him and hugged him for a few seconds. "Thank you for going here. Nagdinner ka na ba?"

"Not yet. Umalis na ako agad after the game. I didn't get the chance to get myself something to eat on the way," he said.

"I just woke up. Let's go, I'll make dinner for you," she told him and held his hand. They went to the kitchen after giving instructions to her employee about his check in.